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AFTER THE NORTH POLE

AFTER THE NORTH POLE A Story of Survival, Mythmaking, and Melting Ice

by Erling Kagge | Read by Atli Gunnarsson

Harper Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Listeners will be riveted by narrator Atli Gunnarsson as he recounts the many trials and tribulations that await explorers who trek to the North Pole. In 1994, Erling Kagge made that journey using nothing but his skis. In a strong Nordic accent, Gunnarsson brings to life both Kagge's personal experience and those of the explorers who came before him. He transports listeners to... Read More

ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER

ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER Love, Loss, and Liberation

by Elizabeth Gilbert | Read by Elizabeth Gilbert

Penguin Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

This author-narrated audiobook blends memories and poems with some mind-bending moments--as Elizabeth Gilbert talks with her late lover and converses with God. A practiced speaker, Gilbert performs this excruciatingly honest work with passion and restraint. The memoir is about addiction and how Gilbert healed after the death of her friend, lover, global-traveling companion, and... Read More

ARTICULATE

ARTICULATE A Deaf Memoir of Voice

by Rachel Kolb | Read by Anna Caputo, Rachel Renee Kolb

Harper Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Anna Caputo gives a terrific performance of this memoir about growing up deaf in a hearing world. While author Rachel Kolb is accomplished--she was the first signing deaf person to become a Rhodes Scholar--her writing is down-to-earth and relatable. With an intelligent, empathetic intonation, Caputo imparts Kolb's life story, including the many adjustments she needed to make to... Read More

AWAKE

AWAKE A Memoir

Earphones Award Winner

by Jen Hatmaker | Read by Jen Hatmaker

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

If social media numbers and my math are correct, Jen Hatmaker has 1,518,500 combined followers on Facebook, Instagram, and X--and they will love this book. Those who have watched her videos or listened to her podcasts will immediately recognize her distinctive speaking style in this memoir recounting her journey from the trauma of divorce and evangelicalism to the healing and... Read More

BALDWIN

BALDWIN A Love Story

Earphones Award Winner

by Nicholas Boggs | Read by Ron Butler

Macmillan Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

For more than 24 stunning hours, narrator Ron Butler immerses listeners in the world of writer James Baldwin. This detailed biography structures Baldwin's life around his greatest loves, the people who filled so many of his thoughts. Baldwin travels the globe and makes a name for himself as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, but he's always drawn back to the... Read More

BECOMING BABA

BECOMING BABA Fatherhood, Faith, and Finding Meaning in America

by Aymann Ismail | Read by Aymann Ismail

Random House Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Aymann Ismail, a SLATE journalist and podcaster, narrates his memoir, giving it the genuineness he intended when he wrote it. Growing up the youngest son of immigrants, Ismail struggled with his identity as a Muslim and an Egyptian American. He narrates with the kind of self-questioning that adds credibility to his journey to form an honest relationship with his religion and... Read More

A BILLION BUTTERFLIES

A BILLION BUTTERFLIES A Life in Climate and Chaos Theory

by Jagadish Shukla | Read by Shahjehan Khan

Macmillan Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Narrator Shahjehan Khan's measured pace works well in imparting the author's goal to find a way to predict the monsoons in his home country of India. Listeners are presented with a thorough and entertaining autobiography of a boy who was born in a village without a school, who, nonetheless, secured an education, followed by positions at NASA, MIT, and the organization that... Read More

THE BIRD SINGERS

THE BIRD SINGERS How Two Boys Discovered the Magic of Birdsong

by Jean Boucault, Johnny Rasse, Katia Grubisic [Trans.] | Read by Jean Brassard, Jean-Marc Berne

Blackstone Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

This translated French memoir by Jean Boucault and Johnny Rasse recounts their youth and mutual passion for birdsong. The boys' backgrounds are differentiated by the accents of narrators Jean-Marc Berne and Jean Brassard. Berne gives Johnny a rural working-class dialect represented by heavily accented English, while Brassard represents Jean's wealthier upbringing with... Read More

THE BOOK OF SHEEN

THE BOOK OF SHEEN A Memoir

by Charlie Sheen | Read by Charlie Sheen

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Actor Charlie Sheen, son of actor Martin Sheen and brother of actor Emilio Estevez, offers an unusual, bizarre, and extremely convoluted series of brief recollections, espousing his life philosophies and perspectives and occasionally referencing semi-chronological actual experiences. Sheen's narration is professional, warm, well enunciated, sincere, and appealing. Listeners... Read More

CAREME

CAREME The First Celebrity Chef

by Ian Kelly | Read by Ian Kelly

Bloomsbury Publishing | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Author Ian Kelly brings both authority and warmth to his narration of his engaging look at the life and work of Antonin Carême, whom he bills as the first celebrity chef. Kelly lends an elegant rhythm to the historical details of Carême's rise from humble origins to renowned restaurateur. His steady pacing allows listeners to savor the richness of the early nineteenth century... Read More

CLINT

CLINT The Man and the Movies

by Shawn Levy | Read by Mike Chamberlain

Harper Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

The author of this audiobook, Shawn Levy, treads carefully between other authors' efforts--some too fawning, others too critical--in this exhaustively researched, articulate, and absorbing biography of screen legend Clint Eastwood. Mike Chamberlain brings a well-suited tone to his narration. His performance provides crisp diction, enthusiasm, and optimism. Nearly every... Read More

COMEDY SAMURAI

COMEDY SAMURAI Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter

by Larry Charles | Read by Larry Charles

Hachette Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

For a comedy audiobook, the words "over-the-top" should be welcome. Alas, Larry Charles's narration of his memoir about 40 years in show business is just too much. His delivery pushes so hard that he ends up sounding like an amateur actor trying to impress. A winner of many prestigious awards, the writer and director of such successful shows as "Seinfeld," "Curb Your... Read More

COMING UP SHORT

COMING UP SHORT A Memoir of My America

by Robert B. Reich | Read by Robert B. Reich

Random House Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Because he's extremely short, Robert Reich has been bullied his entire life. But standing up to bullies--socially and politically--has been his hallmark and is a major theme of this memoir. His most important message is a plea for Americans to stand up to the man he considers the bully-in-chief: President Trump. Reich narrates his audiobook, so the emotions he expresses are... Read More

CRUMB

CRUMB A Cartoonist's Life

Earphones Award Winner

by Dan Nadel | Read by Rob Shapiro

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Artist Robert Crumb did the impossible--he turned the medium of comic books into something both inspiring and repellent while securing a place in comic history. Rob Shapiro's understated delivery of this authorized biography is as captivating as Crumb's bizarre life. Listening to it will make people seek out not only Crumb's work in Zap Comix, Fritz The Cat, and others, but... Read More

ET TU, CAVAPOO?

ET TU, CAVAPOO? A Dog's Life in Rome

Earphones Award Winner

by Mark Radcliffe | Read by Mark Radcliffe

Hachette Audio UK | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Almost 30 years after his first visit to Trastevere, author and narrator Mark Radcliffe returns, this time with his wife, Bella, and their Cavapoo, Arlo. Five-year-old Arlo provides a delightful twist to this story with his cheerful dog's-eye perspective of their three-month Roman holiday. Radcliffe's English accent and breezy delivery are charming--but it's his portrayal of... Read More

THE FEATHER DETECTIVE

THE FEATHER DETECTIVE Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne

by Chris Sweeney | Read by Sierra Prasada

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

"Forensic ornithologist" are two words few people would put together. But they're the focus of this audiobook about a Smithsonian specialist whose vast knowledge of feathers led to solving mysteries surrounding aircraft accidents, murders, and other incidents. Sierra Prasada offers an able narration of this biography of pioneering researcher Roxie Laybourne. Prasada enlivens... Read More

THE HEART OF A WOMAN

THE HEART OF A WOMAN

by Maya Angelou | Read by Uzo Aduba

Random House Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Before she became a famous poet, Maya Angelou was a dancer, singer, actor, activist, magazine writer and editor, and a university administrator. This audio version of her fourth memoir covers her life from 1957 to 1962, roughly from the time of her move to New York City--where she met, among others, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X--and then to Accra, Ghana. The story is... Read More

HERO REDEFINED

HERO REDEFINED Profiles of Olympic Athletes Under the Radar

by Doug Levy | Read by Mike Zuzel

Clever Cleever Publishing | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Narrator Mike Zuzel captures these stories about Olympic athletes-- some well known, others not--who went above and beyond in heroic or sacrificial gestures in their careers. Zuzel's deep voice is consistent and calming. He narrates clearly with restrained enthusiasm. The stories that emerge are interesting and include accounts of track athlete Peter Norman and his famed 1968... Read More

HISTORY MATTERS

HISTORY MATTERS

by David McCullough, Dorie McCullough Lawson Eds.] | Read by John Bedford Lloyd, Dorie McCullough Lawson, John Meacham [Fore.]

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

While listeners will miss his unmistakable voice, this assembly of David McCullough's shorter uncollected pieces offers illuminating glimpses of the popular historian's work habits and methods. Commemorative speeches, his PARIS REVIEW interview, and his reflections on writing about Harry Truman, Abigail Adams, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Panama Canal remind listeners of... Read More

I'LL TELL YOU WHEN I'M HOME

I'LL TELL YOU WHEN I'M HOME A Memoir

by Hala Alyan | Read by Hala Alyan

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

In this poignant, fragmented memoir, poet and novelist Hala Alyan reflects on her journey to motherhood through surrogacy. She narrates with an emotional intensity that matches the intimacy of the prose, her voice sometimes scratchy with grief, sometimes full of love. The memoir unfolds in a series of nonlinear moments and memories--of her marriage, her college years in Beirut,... Read More

AN INDIAN AMONG LOS INDIGENAS

AN INDIAN AMONG LOS INDIGENAS A Native Travel Memoir

by Ursula Pike | Read by Diana Bustelo

Dreamscape | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Narrator Diana Bustelo brings this travel memoir to life in a tone that adds depth and warmth. The audiobook recalls author Ursula Pike's experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador when she was in her late 20s. A member of the North American Karuk Tribe, Pike hopes to connect with Ecuador's Indigenous people. Yet, arriving from the U.S. with a degree in economics, she... Read More

THE JACKFRUIT CHRONICLES

THE JACKFRUIT CHRONICLES Memories and Recipes from a British-Bangladesh Kitchen

by Shahnaz Ahsan | Read by Rima Ahmed

HarperCollins Publishers UK | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Rima Ahmed, a BBC Radio presenter, delivers a warm and resonant performance of this rich collection of stories about food and family. Ahmed's regional English accent adds curiosity and vitality to Shahnaz Ahsan's memoir, which spans her diverse family history and travels across Asia, Europe, and Africa. Ahmed infuses a balance of quiet awe and trepidation into the author's... Read More

JOY GODDESS

JOY GODDESS A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance

by A'Lelia Bundles | Read by A'Lelia Bundles

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

A'Lelia Bundles narrates her biography of her great-grandmother, A'Lelia Walker, with pride. A'Lelia Walker was the daughter of the first wealthy African American woman, Madam C.J. Walker, who created a Black hair-care empire long before the Civil Rights movement. Bundles projects the excitement of the historical period in which A'Lelia--stubborn and loyal to a fault--set out... Read More

THE LAST EMPRESS OF FRANCE

THE LAST EMPRESS OF FRANCE The Rebellious Life of Eugenie de Montijo

by Petie Kladstrup, Evelyne Resnick | Read by Jilly Bond

Harlequin Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Jilly Bond paints a charming portrait of Eugénie de Montijo, the last empress of France. The Spanish-born aristocrat married to Emperor Napoleon III was a woman ahead of her time. The Napoleonic Code defined women as little more than chattel. They were uneducated, taught only to be good wives and unable to do or think for themselves. Bond's narration portrays a fierce advocate... Read More

LUCKIEST MAN

LUCKIEST MAN The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig

by Jonathan Eig | Read by Dion Graham

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Narrator Dion Graham and biographer Eig set the record straight on the triumphant and ultimately tragic life story of Lou Gehrig, one of the best first basemen and consistent hitters in baseball history. But the "Iron Horse," as sportswriters dubbed him because of his consecutive game streak, had his career cut short when he was diagnosed with ALS in 1939 and forced into... Read More

A MARRIAGE AT SEA

A MARRIAGE AT SEA A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck

by Sophie Elmhirst | Read by Marisa Calin

Penguin Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Marisa Calin narrates this fraught tale of shipwreck, marriage, and survival. Maurice and Marilyn quit their jobs and embark on sailing the ocean without an engine or radio. They see it as the experience of a lifetime. When a whale sinks their boat and leaves them adrift on a raft in the Pacific, the two struggle for four months to stay alive and maintain their sanity. Calin... Read More

MELTING POINT

MELTING POINT Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land

by Rachel Cockerell | Read by Henry Goodman, Rachel Cockerell

Macmillan Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

This audiobook opens as an insightful biography of David Jochelmann, author Rachel Cockerell's grandfather, who helped found the State of Israel. The narrative evolves into an exploration of the Jewish migration to Texas, weaving in the stories of influential figures such as Emjo Basshe and others who shaped this unique chapter of history. Henry Goodman is an excellent... Read More

MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME

MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME

by Arundhati Roy | Read by Arundhati Roy

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Arundhati Roy's moving performance illuminates her tumultuous experience of being raised in India by her fierce mother, Mary Roy, whom she refers to as "Mrs. Roy." Narrator Roy delivers her memoir in a calm, yielding voice that intensifies the hardships she overcame. Her mother worked miracles at her private school in Kerala, turning boys into gentlemen and teaching girls to... Read More

THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS R.E.M.

THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS R.E.M. A Biography

by Peter Ames Carlin | Read by Mike Chamberlain

Random House Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Any listener who was ever more than a casual fan of the band R.E.M. will find much of interest along with a good dose of nostalgia in this detailed history of the group. Mike Chamberlain provides a straightforward, steady, and clear narration with a bit of an edge, appropriate for a biography of a rock band. Notably, author Carlin doesn't include any firsthand interviews with... Read More

NOT A VERY GOOD MURDERER

NOT A VERY GOOD MURDERER

by Ronan Farrow | Read by Ronan Farrow

Audible, Inc. | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Journalist Ronan Farrow narrates his exploration of a socialite who was once Miss Arizona who is linked to attempted murder, jewel thieves, and accusations against a U.S. president. Ronan Farrow began investigating Cece Doane's credibility in regard to a series of messages she posted on social media, vetting her as a source for an article. What he discovered was a woman accused... Read More

ON HER GAME

ON HER GAME Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports

by Christine Brennan | Read by Christine Brennan

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Women's sports are experiencing increasing popularity, and author/narrator Christine Brennan posits that much of it has to do with the rise of basketball phenom Caitlin Clark. Brennan's clear, sometimes adulatory, prose is matched by her resonant tones and energetic cadence. Brennan recounts Clark's journey from the NCAA playoffs through her rookie year with the Indiana Fever.... Read More

PAPER DOLL

PAPER DOLL Notes from a Late Bloomer

Earphones Award Winner

by Dylan Mulvaney | Read by Dylan Mulvaney

Recorded Books | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

This spirited memoir is narrated by its author, the talented, lovely actress Dylan Mulvaney. Her robust and delightful performance fully conjures the colorful life she's lived--from her first budding aspirations for the stage to the inspiring woman she is today. Of course, the audiobook heavily focuses on her gender transition later in life and the negative feedback she's... Read More

POSITIVE OBSESSION

POSITIVE OBSESSION The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler

by Susana M. Morris | Read by Karen Murray

Harper Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Karen Murray performs this must-listen biography of one of America's greatest writers. Science fiction and fantasy author Octavia Butler was an early trailblazer of Afrofuturism. Morris highlights how Butler's identity as a working-class Black woman informed her writing throughout her career. She was a deep thinker, ruminating on big questions around the foundation of American... Read More

THE QUIET EAR

THE QUIET EAR An Investigation of Missing Sound: A Memoir

by Raymond Antrobus | Read by Raymond Antrobus

Random House Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Deaf poet Raymond Antrobus dazzles in this spellbinding account of his life as a mixed-race young man from East London. Born to an English mother and a Jamaican father, Antrobus always felt out of place. When he was 6, a doctor explained that he was deaf. Finding poetry revolutionized his relationship to sound and gave him the confidence to embrace his life as a member of the... Read More

THE REBEL ROMANOV

THE REBEL ROMANOV Julie of Saxe-Coburg, the Empress Russia Never Had

by Helen Rappaport | Read by Jennifer M. Dixon

Tantor Media | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

The tumultuous life of Juliane of Saxe-Coburg is given a solid narration by Jennifer M. Dixon. Julie, who was an aunt of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, became Grand Duchess Anna Fedorova of Russia when she married Grand Duke Constantine, brother of the future Tsar Alexander I. It was not a happy union, and she eventually abandoned him and fled back to Western Europe.... Read More

THE RIVER'S DAUGHTER

THE RIVER'S DAUGHTER

by Bridget Crocker | Read by Bridget Crocker

Spiegel & Grau by Spotify | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Author Bridget Crocker recounts her life as a young woman before coming into her own, thanks to her appreciation for the natural world. One Easter morning Crocker's mother abandoned her family, leaving Bridget to fend for herself. Few people stepped in to help. Through a series of traumatic trials and tribulations--including sexual assaults-- Crocker found herself confronting... Read More

SOMEDAY, NOW

SOMEDAY, NOW A Memoir of Family, Reclaiming Possibility, and One Sicilian Summer

by Tembi Locke | Read by Tembi Locke

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Listening to Tembi Locke's melodic voice share her experiences during a Sicilian summer vacation with her daughter, Zoela, and second husband, Robert, is a delight for any audiophile. Published years after FROM SCRATCH--her gut-wrenching memoir of her first husband's death from cancer--this account continues her story as she reconnects with her late husband's family and they... Read More

SURREAL

SURREAL The Extraordinary Life of Gala Dalí

by Michele Gerber Klein | Read by Derek Perkins

Harper Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Narrator Derek Perkins is the gold standard for audiobooks devoted to artists and the fine arts, and also, it seems, for stunts and high jinks. Clearly, he revels in this biography of "the mother of surrealism," Gala Dali, wife of Salvadore Dali and a creative force in her own right. Her first husband, French poet Paul luard, described her as "an extraordinary, versatile, and... Read More

THINGS BECOME OTHER THINGS

THINGS BECOME OTHER THINGS A Walking Memoir

by Craig Mod | Read by Craig Mod

Random House Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Craig Mod moved to Japan at age 19. Now a photographer and essayist in his 40s, he's still there and is an avid walker. Narrating his own work, he recounts his pilgrimage on the Kumano Kodo trail on the Kii Peninsula. At a slow pace, Mod interweaves the daily details of his walk with the history of the pilgrimage; U.S. and Japanese relations; the concept of "yoyu"; thoughts on... Read More

TONI AT RANDOM

TONI AT RANDOM The Iconic Writer's Legendary Editorship

by Dana A. Williams | Read by Deanna Anthony

Harper Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

This deeply researched biography of the iconic American author Toni Morrison explores the significance of her editorial role at Random House Publishing, where she shepherded the careers of many Black writers. It's a lesser known part of Morrison's remarkable career, but it influenced American literature from the 1970s onward. Howard University Dean of Graduate Studies and... Read More

TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND

TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND The Making of Born to Run

by Peter Ames Carlin | Read by Peter Ames Carlin

Random House Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

More than 50 years ago, Bruce Springsteen set out to make an album--not just any album, one that had to be just right, perfect rock and roll. Through that diligence, attention to detail, collaboration, and long days and nights, the seminal BORN TO RUN album was created. Peter Ames Carlin narrates his own work, and he does it well, song by song. Through clear enunciation and... Read More

A TRUCE THAT IS NOT PEACE

A TRUCE THAT IS NOT PEACE

by Miriam Toews | Read by Miriam Toews

Recorded Books | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

Acclaimed novelist Miriam Toews narrates her haunting and, at times, funny memoir, which explores why she writes. In a conversational tone, Toews recounts mundane memories while unpacking her profound grief at losing both her father and sister to death by suicide. Through her writing and narration, Toews injects witty quips to break up the tragic subject matter, delivering her... Read More

W.E.B. DU BOIS, 1868-1919

W.E.B. DU BOIS, 1868-1919 Biography of a Race

Earphones Award Winner

by David Levering Lewis | Read by Courtney B. Vance

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

When a nonfiction audiobook is described as "monumental," it can be challenging for listeners. But Courtney B. Vance makes this biography of pioneering Black sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois highly accessible. The work is still long and detailed, but Vance's pace and tone keep it from seeming tedious. He varies his voice to suit the material, especially in denoting irony or when... Read More

WILDFIRE DAYS

WILDFIRE DAYS A Woman, a Hotshot Crew, and the Burning American West

by Kelly Ramsey | Read by Kelly Ramsey

Simon & Schuster Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

When Kelly Ramsey moved to Northern California to fight wildfires, she was weighed down by more than just her gear. In her late 30s, she was a decade older than most of her crew--and the only woman to boot. But the toughness, humor, and youthful energy that sustained her comes through in her narration of her memoir. With an easygoing, personable tone, Ramsey takes listeners... Read More

WOMEN OF THE FAIRY TALE RESISTANCE

WOMEN OF THE FAIRY TALE RESISTANCE The Forgotten Founding Mothers of the Fairy Tale and the Stories That They Spun

by Jane Harrington | Read by Hope Newhouse

Hachette Audio | Unabridged
Biography & Memoir

In 1600s Paris, with Louis XIV on the throne, a group of women gathered to have discussions in opposition to the patriarchy and other forces limiting women's opportunities. Narrator Hope Newhouse's feminine voicing is a suitable complement to the stories of these "conteuses," or storytellers, who crafted fairy tales out of their experiences. Newhouse's delicate voicings,... Read More

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